Stó:lōConnect: A Digital System Supporting Stó:lō Heritage, Land, Environmental Stewardship

Stó:lōConnect is a digital data warehouse and processing system developed by the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre (SRRMC) for the purpose of land and resources stewardship in relationship to proposed developments within Stó:lō traditional lands--from individual forestry cutblocks to major projects including the TransMountain Pipeline Expansion Project. This system is dynamic, adaptable and allows for the assessment of relationships between Stó:lō cultural sites and other areas of environmental concern and importance relative to proposed or actual development plan footprints, as well as for assessment of land status and interests facilitating treaty and other forms of land-based negotiations. As a web based digital tool Sto:lo Connect facilitates communication between fifteen Stó:lō First Nation members of the S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance (STSA), multiple provincial agencies, federal departments, and development proponents. It provides a means of implementing the Stó:lō Heritage Policy, S’ólh Téméxw Use Plan, and the STSA Consultation and Land-Use and Decision-Making Policy. It also facilitates the development and implementation of environmental assessment, cumulative effects assessment processes, and exploration of collaborative stewardship arrangements serving to assess and address the integrity of S’ólh Téméxw (Our Land; Our World) within a Stó:lō governance framework and worldview. This session focusses on demonstrating and discussing this digital tool.

Organized by the Indigenous/Science Research Cluster.